Rising hopes for democracy in the American heartland
At a time when many see looming clouds on the horizon of American democracy, I鈥檝e been thinking about glimmers of hope.
From interviewing high schoolers running for governor in Kansas to following a canvasser in Kentucky as he knocked on doors, I鈥檝e had the privilege this past year of meeting many Americans energized about their role in making government better.
Political activism in America, especially as depicted on social media or TV, tends to focus almost exclusively on die-hard Trump supporters or those who form the official 鈥渞esistance鈥� to the current administration.
Why We Wrote This
It鈥檚 a trying time for the American republic, but in my travels for the Monitor this year I saw encouraging signs from Kansas to Kentucky.
But in between the red Make America Great Again hats in Appalachian diners and the pink hats at urban protests, a renaissance of everyday citizens, especially women, is , posits the journal Democracy. The encouraging signs I鈥檝e seen across the heartland this year are, I believe, part and parcel of a broader awakening that includes both sexes.
An earnest argument
It鈥檚 easy to miss even the most poignant examples of democracy in action.
I almost did.
After 12 days on the road for 海角大神 in Montana, I was exhausted when I finally left a carefully crafted rally featuring the president鈥檚 son, Donald Trump Jr.,聽in late September. Earlier in the evening I鈥檇 seen protesters bang on a window after being denied entrance, holding up their pink poster-board signs and yelling.
When I walked out into the cold autumn night, one of those protesters was still there, leaning over the fence, arguing with a supporter of GOP Senate candidate Matt Rosendale on his way out. She was young, scrappy, and passionately liberal. He was older, weathered, and equally fervent.
Yet more rancor, I thought as I walked past them.
But what I heard in passing was honest, earnest, and brave. They were asking serious questions about what kind of America the other wanted to live in 鈥� and responding with substantive answers.
I turned around to listen, savoring democracy in action. Right there in the dusty parking lot of the Bozeman fairgrounds, two Americans were coexisting in a rarely inhabited space between Facebook diatribes and in-person 鈥淜umbaya鈥� sessions. If we are ever to bridge our current divides, the most crucial bridge-building will take place here.
Learning to defend the other side
This spring, I saw high schoolers preparing for the sort of reasoned argument that would enable them to be such bridge-builders.
鈥淒ebate forces you 鈥� to hear the other side,鈥� student Ben Engle told me on the sidelines of a Saturday qualifier for national championships.
鈥淣ot just hear them, but defend their beliefs,鈥� added fellow student Bobby Phillips, one of the top nationally ranked policy debaters.聽(The contest requires that debaters also argue the other side of the question.)
Nationwide, more than 140,000 students are involved in the National Speech & Debate Association,聽and the national championships have doubled in size since the 1990s to 5,200 participants.
Shared love of country
Lest you be tempted to think reasoned debate is limited these days to high school students in controlled environments, meet Amy McGrath, a retired Marine fighter pilot.
Lt. Col. McGrath ran for Congress as a rookie Democrat in a Kentucky district where President Trump won big, drawing many national reporters to the Bluegrass State, myself included.
In a diner parking lot along the campaign trail, where she had sat and talked for more than an hour with a handful of locals, I asked her about how losing fellow soldiers affected her view of a politician鈥檚 role. She told me about a fellow pilot in the Marines 鈥� a Republican with whom she had had vigorous political debates.
鈥淪ugar Bear and I might have disagreements but we never doubted our patriotism, we never doubted our love of country,鈥� said McGrath, who is part of a broader movement to put country above party聽on Capitol Hill.
McGrath narrowly lost her bid for Congress, but she seeded a new crop of civic activists 鈥� people like Scott Browder.
鈥淚 used to think all I had to do was vote, and let others do the work. No more,鈥� said Mr. Browder, a first-time canvasser who let me follow him around for an afternoon in Richmond, Ky. 鈥淚 used to think I couldn鈥檛 make a difference. No more.鈥�
鈥榃ithout you ... the election just won鈥檛 be the same鈥�
Back in Montana, Rebecca Johnson organizes people like Browder, except her team鈥檚 whole focus is getting people to vote, period 鈥撀� never mind for whom. She and her team visited the farmers鈥� market, college classes, even homeless shelters, chipping away at the masses of Americans who are too busy or apathetic or despairing to go to the polls.
They adopted the slogan, 鈥淲ithout you ... the election just won鈥檛 be the same.鈥澛�
Montana registered the of any state, helped in part by the tight Senate race but undoubtedly by volunteers like Ms. Johnson as well.
While there鈥檚 ample room for improvement 鈥� even in Montana, about 1 in 3 eligible voters are still forfeiting their role in shaping America鈥檚 path forward 鈥� it鈥檚 people like Johnson who give me hope.
鈥榃e the people鈥�
There were many other inspiring examples of democracy in action, too: Glenn Brunkow, a Kansas farmer concerned about President Trump鈥檚 steel tariffs, who left his lambs during a chilly week in March to talk with his representatives in Washington; Ohio welders with tough hands and well-worn overalls sitting around a sleek glass conference table presenting their proposals for making their shop floor more efficient, battling America鈥檚 dearth of skilled laborers with grass-roots ingenuity; and the team of folks in a West Virginia city at the epicenter of the opioid crisis who cut the city鈥檚 overdose rate in half.
If you don鈥檛 have hope in America鈥檚 government, look to its people. They are sovereign in this country, after all. As Abraham Lincoln once said 颅鈥� drawing on the words 鈥� our government is 鈥渙f the people, by the people, for the people.鈥�
And there are a lot of good people out here in America.
